Defiance at the Crossroads
by MaraudersChosenNerD
Summary: Lily and James have managed to be good friends since sixth year. But now that they both are Head students and Dark Forces are attempting to take away everything they hold dear, how will they manage to defy these forces and come together?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The characters, back ground story and anything alse you recognise belongs to Rowling.**

As she walked across King's Cross along with Mum and Dad, Lily reflected back on her first journey here on September 1st, 1971. It had been 7 years. And so much had changed since then.

Everything was different. 7 years ago she had been a small girl, holding hands with Severus, as they walked together towards the platform, Lily skitterishly nervous and her companion excited at finally being able to attend Hogwarts. She still remembered that day, when Petunia was morosely lagging behind her parents, bitter at not being able to go to Hogwarts. The same bitternes which led Petunia to calling her a 'freak' and the dwindling relationship of the two sisters.

Lily sighed. That day while crossing the border to Platform 9 and 3/4 she had been a 11-year old child somewhat nervous yet excited about the Magical World, unaware of its tumultous stand on blood purity. Today when she would cross the barrier she would be a young 17-year old Muggleborn witch from Gryffindor, the most competent, brightest witch of her year and Head Girl to boot. But Lily wold also be all too aware of the dangers present in the Wizarding World. She was also acutely aware of the absence of the 2 people who had abandoned her half way through the journey. Petunia and Severus. She...

Lily mentally shook her head to relieve herself from that train of thought. It was no use crying over spilt milk when there were more exciting things waiting for her at the Platform

She turned to her parents who were walking beside her. She hugged both of them and William Evans kissed his youngest daughter on the forehead before pulling back. 'Bye Mum, bye Dad', she whispered. Lily knew she would miss them, and they, her. A lot, probably more than they'll ever put in words. But they knew it, in their hearts. And that was all that was needed. Her Mum patted her cheek one last time before they bid their farewells until Christmas. 'Bye Honey, make sure you write every now and then'.

She nodded and turned towards the platform. Waving back to her parents for the last time, she squared her shoulders and made her way through the barrier to platform 9 and 3/4, pushing her trolley. She was hit with a wave of nostalgia as the fact that this would be one of the last times she would be boarding the Hogwarts Express, hit Lily hard. She suppressed the urge to stay rooted and look around the Platform, and walked forward, searching for a glimpse of one of her friends.

She saw many familiar faces as she walked across the Platform, towards the train, but none that she was actually looking for. She was alredy tired of nodding and waving to her schoolmates by the time she caught sight of Remus Lupin, about to board the train himself.

Lily called out to him 'Oi Lupin', she had to shout to be heard over the din. Remus turned around and smiled when he saw the red-head. He finished loading his trunk and waited for her as she dragged her trolley toward the luggage compartment. When she reached him, they briefly hugged each other before they started loading Lily's trunk in to the compartment. After finishing Lily turned to look at him. Remus looked well. A normal teenage boy. No one would know what he suffered from every full moon. The lycanthropy he was affected by. The lycanthropy that he hid so well, even from her. But she knew. Only he didn't know that she knew. Because frankly she didnt think it mattered. If he wanted to tell her he would have. And she respected his choice. It wasn't like him being lycanthropic affected her-or anyone for that matter, except himself - in a negative way.

While she was mulling all this over in her head, Remus interrupted her with his question, ' To the Prefect's Compartment, then?'. Lily nodded, as it was already nearing 11:00 am and she knew it would be a feat dodging the throng of students in the train to reach the Prefect's Compartment. As they boarded the train and began their journey to the front of the train, Lily took out her shining red and gold Head Girl Badge and began pining it over her blue shirt. When Remus noticed her he spoke 'Well, well. Congratulations are in order, aren't they? Why didnt you tell me earlier Lily? Or is it Yours Headship now?' 'Eh. I suppose it slipped my mind because I was overwhelmed at seeing your handsome self.' She winked at him, and continued 'Anyway Lupin, back to buisness. Stop being modest and tell me where your Head Boy badge is.' He shrugged and answered 'I dont have it Lily'. Inspite of his short and curt answer, Lily could detect a warm, mischievious gleam in his eyes. However, before she could continue, the train started moving and the Hogwarts students suddenly started bustling inside, some squashing themselves to the window, others peeping outside the window, waving last minute goodbyes to their loved ones. She let the topic rest as they moved against the battling throng. It was still 11:05 and the meeting didnt begin until 11:30, but Lily wanted to be a little early for the first Prefect's meeting as the Head Girl, so they went anyway.

After a few minutes of companionable silence Lily once again broached the subject of Head Boyship. After all Remus hadn't actually denied being the Head Boy, only the possession of the badge, but there was a chance that one of the other Prefects had bagged the position of Head Boy. Benjy Fenwick, the 7th year Ravenclaw prefect and one of her closest friends, Lily thought wouldn't be bad for a co-Head either. Especially since being Heads included having a Heads Common Room with additional workspace for them and collaborating a lot of their work, she would prefer someone she knew and liked well. Not some Slytherin git, kneedeep in the Dark Arts.

She finally asked ' So the Head Boy this year is...?', as they reached the Prefect's Compartment. Remus turned to her once again with that strange gleam back in his eyes and answered 'Is a Marauder.'

She was confused. The only Marauder who had been a Prefect was Remus. She began confusedly 'But you...?'. Before she could elaborate further, Remus slid open the door of the Prefect's Compartment for them to enter.

As she caught sight of the only occupant in the compartment, a messy-haired Marauder with the Head Boy badge pinned to his shirt and a small smile gracing his lips turned towards the door to greet them, Lily raised an eyebrow to the sandy-haired Prefect beside her, who was now full out grinning at the sardonic look on her face.

Oh, it was going to be an excitable year, alright. What else could it be, given the nature of her co-Head, Marauder-Extraordinaire, James Potter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The characters, back ground story and anything else you recognize belongs to Rowling.**

**A/N: **_Hi guys, before I begin this chapter I would like to thank all the guys who have followed this story and added it to their favorites list. And of course how can I forget _**Goddess of Fangirls **_who is my first reviewer... Thank you so much guys, and now I'll do the only thing I can for you people. Update the story and dedicate this chapter to you guys._

Lily quickly schooled her face into an impassive expression after she she glanced at James' face once more. Remus looked back and forth between the two Heads and thought it best to leave them alone for this particular confrontation.

As he slid the door open Remus said "I suppose I'll leave you with your surprise Lily". He slipped out and called out once again "Keep the showdown short though, the meeting begins in 15 minutes and I don't have time to put off fires or dispose dead bodies". Lily was quick to reply as the the door closed "I'm not making any promises Remus" and heard a chuckle from outside.

When Lily looked away from the door and glanced towards James, Lily found that she could no longer maintain a straight face. She promptly burst out laughing. And being the good Co-Head that he was supposed to be, James merely looked on the scene bemusedly rather than flagging down the healers of St. Mungo's. Only after her fit of laughter began to subside did James open his mouth "Why Miss Evans, I never knew you took so much pleasure in being partnered with me, in-spite of losing a bet with me". Lily feigned confusion and asked innocently "Losing a bet ?". With a smirk on his face James retorted "Don't tell me Your Headship has already forgotten our little bet at Diagon Alley in August". Before Lily could answer, however, the conversation was interrupted by four Seventh Year Prefects headed by none other than Remus Lupin. Along with Remus, there stood at the door Ravenclaw Prefects Janet Davies and Benjy Fenwick and Hufflepuff Prefect Emily Macmillan.

As soon as Lily saw who they were, Lily walked forward and flung her arms around Emily and Janet. After pulling away from the group hug, Lily turned to greet Benjy, while James nodded to Emily and hugged Janet. Before they could talk anymore it was time for the Prefect's meeting and the Prefects started trickling in. As the Prefects took their seats and began catching up with each other waiting for alt the Prefects to come in, James bent down and whispered to Lily "Don't think I'll let you forget about the bet. We are going to to have a chat about this in the Head's Common Room". "Of course James. Anything for my fellow Head right?" Lily whispered back with biting sweetness. As James straightened up, from the corner of the eye, she saw the last of the Prefects, Slytherin seventh years, Severus Snape and Olivia Flynn, enter.

She signaled James who took his cue and called all the Prefects to order. The meeting turned out to be quite uneventful as Lily and James introduced themselves as well as the fifth year Prefects, fixed a proper meeting on the evening of the first day of school, assigned a brief patrol duty around the train and dismissed them.

Since the seventh years' patrol duty was in the end, the six of them who were there from the beginning of the meeting, left to join their other friends with Benjy leading them. Lily assumed Dorcas and the boys must have already found a compartment together. Emily and Janet were regaling her with stories of the summer as both of them had spent July together with Dorcas, in Emily's home. Lily was feeling increasingly jealous that she had missed out on their vacation escapades as she listened to their stories. Lily had to miss out on their annual vacation meet due to a wedding in the family. The only contact she had with her friends over the summer had been over owl-post with her three best friends, and a brief but interesting encounter with James in the last week of August at Diagon Alley.

They must have finally reached the right compartment as Benjy pulled open the door and walked in. As Lily entered she saw seventh year Gryffindors Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and finally, at last, Dorcas Meadowes in the compartment. After greeting all of them, and Dorcas a little bit more enthusiastically than the others she turned to see Remus closing the door shut. But Emily stopped him "Don't. I need to go. I guess I'll meet you guys later. I promised to sit with Leo after the meeting". "Ditching your friends for your boyfriend Emily?" joked Dorcas. "Oh shove off Meadowes. As if I haven't seen enough of you guys over the summer. Leo on the other hand, lets just say we've got a lot of catching up to do." Emily winked and was about to leave when Benjy called out "Hey Emily wait, I'll join you on your way out. I suppose I'll go meet Davey and others. Bye folks."

The others spent the first half of the ride in idle chit-chat of the summer holidays. But after the Trolley Lady came by the boys became too busy stuffing their mouths to engage in a proper conversation and soon Lily nodded off against the seat. She woke up only when she heard the bang of an explosion. When she looked around frantically, now fully awake, she found that the explosion was the result of the game of Exploding Snap between Janet and Sirius. The sight of Janet and Sirius covered in soot with wide eyed expression was enough to send everyone into a fit of laughter.

After the two managed to clean themselves by a few "Scourgify" spells, they both decided that one explosion was more than enough for that day and started talking Quidditch with James. Halfway through the conversation Janet managed to put aside her Quidditch mania to call out "Oi Evans Time for your patrols. Want me to come with you?". Confused, Lily turned to James and asked "Aren't you supposed to patrol with me?" "I finished my patrols with Remus when you were napping. Emily's also done hers with Caradoc Dearbon, in fact they did their patrols with Janet and Benjy". Janet spoke "I think it is time for the Slytherin Prefects and you. I think I'll come with you." Dorcas protested "No you stay. You've already done your rounds. I'll go with Lily." Lily waved off their proposals for company. And when they once again tried to persuade her into letting them accompany her she burst out "I said I am going alone. For Merlin's sake guys, I am Head Girl, not a nine year old kid, alright.". With that she stood up, grabbed her school robes from her side bag and walked out into the corridors, closing the doors shut behind her, so that she couldn't hear anymore of their protests. She found a loo and quickly changed into her school robes and began her patrols.

Lily knew why they were insisting on accompanying her to the rounds. But it was hardly necessary. She knew Janet and Dorcas were worried she would run into Severus. But she didn't understand _why_ they were worried. Its not like she couldn't stand her own against Severus and Flynn in a duel. And Merlin knew she could hold her own in any battle of wits. Besides, she was sure he wouldn't open old wounds of their friendship. He had enough pride and ego not to do that once again. And even in the off-chance that he did do it, they, her best friends should know her better than that to believe she would fall into the trap again.

She had remained aloof with unforgiving attitude for more than a year, hadn't she. Yet they acted as though she would go running back to him, the moment she saw her childhood friend. She'd proved over and over again, that if there was one thing Lily wouldn't do was go back to being friends with Snape. Their concern was touching, sure, but that didn't mean she could rely on them to fight her battles. Even if Severus tried something, Lily could manage on her own. All of them knew that. Yet they insisted. Sometimes it made her feel as though they were taking care of a spineless friend who went running to her pure blood friends every time a Slytherin taunted her. God was she sick of it.

Lily sighed. She wondered how her rant about her friends' silly concern turned into a rant filled with pent up frustration about broken friendships and blood purity. She supposed it was the news she heard on a daily basis these days, about so many muggleborns being murdered and tortured in the war that had her so on the edge these days. She was so last in her own thoughts that only when a tiny second year old bumped into her in his haste to get down from the train did she notice that they'd pulled into the Hogsmeade station.

She got down from the train and to her pleasant surprise found herself in a carriage with Sirius, Emily and her boyfriend Leo Ackerley. "Alright Evans? You left in a huff earlier." Sirius asked. "More than fine Sirius. I was just being dramatic earlier." After which all four of them proceeded to exchanged stories about the summer.

Leo had been to Italy and hence hardly had any contact with any of his friends or Emily. He told them about the wizarding world in Italy. The place it seems had had a lot of history about witch burnings and hunting, what with Rome being one of the important seats of the Catholic church in the previous centuries. Emily had spent much of her summer at home as Dorcas and Janet had come over. Sirius was telling them about the Quidditch games and pranks that the Marauders had pulled at the Potters'. It was hilarious to hear him describe the house elf's horror filled reactions to their pranks. Lily wondered how James' mum managed those four boys at the height of their mischief.

Then Lily told them about the muggle wedding. Throughout the conversation time seemed to flow and within no time they were nearing the gates of Hogwarts.

And in spite of this being the seventh and last year that she would attend Hogwarts, Lily found herself feeling exactly like her 11 year old self. Extremely excited yet nervous and on edge what the year ahead would be like in the castle, that now felt like home.

_A/N: Hey guys, hope you liked this chapter. I don't think I will be putting up another chapter until late September as I have exams coming. That being said this writer would appreciate if you let her know what you think about this story. Until the end of September then._

_-D_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The characters, back ground story and anything else you recognise belongs to Rowling.**

**A/N: **_Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I've got a lot of assignments to do, so bear with me. Apart from that, I wanna thank __**Goddess of Fangirls, Krutika and Abhishek **__for their amazing reviews. Here goes the third chapter._

There was a general air of hub-hub in the Great Hall as the students swapped stories of their summer with their friends. The atmosphere in great hall changed noticeably when Professor Minerva McGonagall, a stately witch, wearing rich maroon robes entered the Hall with a row of nervous-looking 11-year old behind her, waiting to be sorted. Everyone immediately turned towards the front of the Great Hall where there stood a stool with a frayed hat perched on it. The sorting began with Abernathy, Mary (Gryffindor) and came to an end with Zuich, Dag (Ravenclaw), amid great applause.

After the sorting, Dumbledore stood up for his customary start-of-the-term announcements. "Welcome to another wonderful year at Hogwarts. This year will hopefullly be a more peaceful one and a less disruptive one" at this Dumbledore flicked his twinkling gaze towards the four seventh year Gryffindor boys sitting near Lily and Dorcas, and continued " but given the presence of particular students and their penchant for hilarious pranks, I suppose I am being overly optimistic. Anyway returning to serious subjects, this year we will be welcoming a new member to our staff, Miss Wilhelmina Mockbridge who has consented to fill the post of the Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts" Dumbledore waved his hand towards a witch who seemed to be in her late thirties and paused as the Hogwarts population welcomed her with a round of applause. " Mr Filch has also put up a new list of restricted goods in the corridors, which can be viewed in his office any time you please. Incidentally he also tells me that anything Marauder related is not to be seen near the confines of his office after the fiasco last year. And now, without further ado let us dig into the sumptuous feast. Pip-pip."

After the feast Lily and Dorcas said a quick goodnight to Emily and Janet, following which both of them hurried to the Gryffindor Tower where Lily had promised to meet James. As they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady Lily told Dorcas that she would try to return to the dorm as soon as possible but not to wait up for her. " Don't be out too late, because I am gonna wait up for you. You know I wouldn't be able to sleep alone in the dorm what with, you know Mary gone and..." Dorcas trailed away. Lily sighed " Fine, I'll come back as soon as possible. In the meantime occupy yourself with some of the Muggle magazines in my trunk." As they heard footsteps, both of them turned to see the four Marauders arriving at the portrait. After saying their 'Good nights' everyone sans James and Lily headed inside after giving the Fat Lady the password.

Without further delay both the Head students set off towards the Headmaster's office in silence. They ascended to the office after giving the gargoyle the password and had just knocked once on the big door when they heard a muffled "Come in". Dumbledore signaled for them to take their seats on the comfortable chairs opposite him. He congratulated both of them for being worthy of the prestigious and gave an outline of the year and what he expected of them in the course of the year.

At the end of the meeting Dumbledore told " I wont keep both of you for much longer. But what I am going to say is very important and unfortunately cannot not be left unsaid, however much I wished otherwise. As both of you are aware we are hanging precariously on the edge of a war. You are also aware of a group of students in the castle who would love nothing more than to join the war on the wrong side -"

"The Slytherins. You are talking about the Slytherins"

"Mister Potter, it would be unwise to brand all the students of a house because of its mistaken identity and history. Won't it, Miss Evans?"

Lily ignored the question asked to her, instead posing one of her own to the grave-looking Headmaster "Professor, do you mean to say that there are students in the castle aspiring to be Death Eaters? "

" Unfortunately I cannot be sure of that. They may simply support the cause, or aspire to be branded by the Dark Mark. But in any case, if you notice any suspicious behavior by any student in the castle, regardless of their house affiliations I urge you to not take matters into your own hands, but report to me. Because even being as knowledgeable as you are, you underestimate the clutches of Lord Voldemort. Just keep a vigilant eye on things. That being said, both of you are free to retire to bed after you've seen the Head Common Room at the end of the seventh-floor corridor leading to the Gryffindor Tower. The password is 'Tweedledum'. Goodnight."

After taking leave of the Headmaster both of them set of towards the Gryffindor Tower. On reaching both of them went inside the common room, which they saw was a room decked with Gryffindor colors. It had a couch in the middle and a small coffee table table placed at it's side. There were two working tables and chairs placed a few paces from each other, near the window. On the opposite sides of the room, there were two doors which led to their respective rooms with adjoining bathrooms.

Too tired to admire the rarity and beauty of the Heads Common Room, James and Lily set of to the Tower and their respective dorms. Lily reached hers and saw Dorcas waiting for her. After narrating the conversation with Dumbledore to Dorcas and telling her about the Heads Common Room, both of them fell asleep quite early, partly due to the fatigue of the day's travel and partly in preparation for the next day.

The next two weeks passed quickly with hardly anything more eventful than the usual classes – with teachers drilling them about the importance of the approaching N.E. and giving them hordes of homework under the same pretense, and the sole Prefect's meeting held in the Heads Common Room. Lily who had been a little apprehensive of James' penchant for breaking rules, had no complaints except for a few minor pranks which were hardly rule-breaking and did not even land him and the remaining Marauders in detention.

It was on Friday, the 16th of September that the peaceful monotony broke.

James and Sirius were conspicuously absent from all the morning classes as well as lunch, which Lily noticed as soon as she entered the Great Hall with Emily, after Arithmancy. She had been considering the possibility of a big prank, but ruled it out as soon as she caught sight of Remus' drawn face at the Gryffindor table with an equally glum looking Peter Pettigrew beside him. Still wondering at her classmates' absence Lily made her way towards Dorcas who incidentally had chosen to sit with the two seventh year Marauders.

" When will they come back?" she heard Dorcas asking as she approached them. "I suppose they'll stay for a while and come back on Sunday evening. Its the weekend after all" was what Remus muttered in reply. Taking a seat beside Dorcas and nodding to Remus and Peter, Lily asked "Returning from where? And why are they going to be away from the castle for so long? Wait, you guys _are_ talking about James and Sirius aren't you?" Dorcas turned to look at her strangely when Lily asked the last question. But Lily chose to ignore her expression in favor of Peter's answer. "Yes we are talking about them as a matter of fact. They have gone home, you see, for Mr Potter's funeral tomorrow."

Whatever Lily was expecting to hear, she certainly did not think it would be of this nature. She was taken aback to say the least. "Mr Potter's funeral? You don't mean to say James' father passed away, do you? It must be an elderly uncle or something?"she asked, feeling self-conscious as Dorcas once again looked at her in that odd way. Remus sighed, "Actually it _was_ James' dad who died. That is why even Sirius went. Mrs Potter wrote in her letter that 'she'd be damned if she let on of her sons miss Charlus' funeral'. Can't blame her really. The Potters are more of a family to him than the Blacks have ever been."

"Why didn't you two go then? I had the impression that even you two were quite close to the Potter family" Dorcas asked in confusion. Remus answered in a weary voice "I wanted to, but I don't think I am up to it though. I've been feeling a bit peaky lately, and Peter said he'd stay with me so that I didn't have to stay alone." Just then the bell ran signaling the end of the lunch break and they stood to leave for Potions. Emily and Janet were waiting for them at the entrance. The Gryffindors filled them in on their conversation during lunch and it was a subdued group which headed to Potions after hearing about the death of Charlus Potter. They dropped off Peter in the library on their way to dungeons, since he had a free hour now, as they headed to Potions after which all of them had Herbology, the last class of the day.

After finishing Herbology, the girls agreed to meet in an abandoned classroom at the fifth floor corridor near the North Tower after supper for 'studying'. They asked if Remus and Peter – who had joined them for Herbology, would like to come, but they declined.

The four girls knew that they would hardly touch their books, instead they would enjoy the evening where all four of them could sit together and talk, as had been their custom for years. As they walked back to the castle from the greenhouses, thinking about customs, rituals and what not, Lily reminisced the day their friendship had begun.

_It had been the second week of First Year and Lily was walking from History of Magic to Herbology, with Severus and that polite Hufflepuff girl in her year, whose name she thought was Emily Macmillan. Even as she glance at him out of the corner of her eye, Lily knew Severus didn't want Emily to be there and could tell that he felt uncomfortable in her presence. But for once she ignored his discomfort. It wasn't like he would stay with them for long anyway, he had Potions with the Ravenclaws now and would go round the corridor to the dungeons. She could head to the greenhouses outside with Emily and Dorcas._

_But just as they were nearing the corridor they heard the fifth year Slytherin Prefect, Lucius Malfoy "Severus, is that Lily Evans you are hanging around with, again" he paused to frown "I thought I told you not to associate with muggleborns if you could help it."_

_Lily had been furious on hearing Malfoy, but she kept her temper, reminding herself that the prat of a Slytherin fifth-year was a Prefect. She glanced at Severus who had gone pale at the sight of his housemate. She was about to answer for him when he yelped a small 'Shut up' to her, and she held her tongue. However the same could not be said about Emily who spoke up "So what if she is a muggleborn? She is still a witch, isn't she? You have no authority on whether Snape associates with Lily or not."_

_Malfoy merely smirked down at the Hufflepuff girl and said "Defending your friend, are you? Loyal of you Macmillan." after which he proceeded to put an arm around Severus, pulling him along with him saying "If you want any of those high aspirations of yours to turn into reality Severus, I would advise you to stop hanging around with riff-raff like that. Filthy blood-sullying..." Lily couldn't hear the rest of the sentence as the Slytherins rounded the corner, but she didn't want to. She had already seen Severus walk away without a glance in her direction, not even bothering to defend her. And he was supposed to be her best friend?_

_She, however heard Dorcas and Janet - who had been talking about Quidditch a few paces behind them- catch up to them, as Dorcas told Lily to calm down and Emily patted her back, attempting to soothe her. But what really calmed her nerves was Janet wisely saying "You have to get rid of that tomato-face of yours" at others confused expression she elaborated " The one you make when you are furious, I mean the one you have now. Put that energy and temper of yours to good use. Show them you're worth it. That you are a witch, and a proud Gryffindor. That _you don't_ care about '_riff-raff_' like that and that _you _will '_associate_' with who so ever you please." As she finished her voice had taken on a fierce tone, and her eyes had a glint in them that looked odd for a eleven year old._

_Though Lily had been slightly awed and refreshed by Janet's words, Janet herself seemed surprised at the the fact that she had spoke so passionately about something. She sheepishly opened her mouth once again"Um, I am sorry if I came out a bit strong on you. I don't usually speak like, er" she fumbled for a word, but finally settled for "Um, like _that. _But you see, my mum is a muggleborn and my parents have always been against these kinds of discrimination and taught me the same. So, er, yeah..." she trailed of, as Lily spoke for the first time "Thanks though, I needed to hear that from someone who was not Severus, and not in Gryffindor."_

"_Um, your welcome, I suppose. Hey, how about all four us meet near the lake at lunch hour today? If it doesn't rain today, that is." Thankfully, it did not rain that day and the four girls finished lunch early and met at the edge of the lake._

_That day, when the four girls had gathered by the lake, Lily came to know that Dorcas and Emily had been childhood friend. That Emily and Janet were partners in Transfiguration class, and had been walking out of said class together, when Emily had spotted Dorcas, called to her and then even proceeded to introduce her to Janet. That Dorcas and Janet had immediately bonded over Quidditch, leading to a heated discussion about league teams – 'like crazed eleven-year old _boys_, fawning over Quidditch' Emily had muttered – and that Emily, bored out of her mind by the technicalities, had been glad to approach Lily and talk to her about other things. And that was when their friendship had begun._

_Two Gryffindors – one a red haired firecracker and another a black and bushy-haired Quidditch maniac – one polite, soft spoken, blond Hufflepuff and lastly a raven haired Ravenclaw obsessed with sports._

And now here they were, six years later. The same four girls.

Lily Evans, Muggleborn Gryffindor, a redhead with sparkling green eyes and features that could make her face – adorned with freckles – go as red as a her hair. Wonderfully sweet and outgoing except when seething in her formidable temper, top of class, charms enthusiast, hardcore potioneer, and in love with the library and its books. She could easily trounce anyone in a battle of wits – or spells – master a Protean Charm for Flitwick or brew the perfect Felix Felicis Slughorn had seen in years. Not to mention that she was also the Head Girl.

Dorcas Meadowes with her jet black, bushy hair and warm brown-colored eyes, madly passionate about Quidditch, held the position of the seeker on the Gryffindor team. She was surprisingly full of energy, for someone with such a slender and small stature. Out of all four of them, Dorcas was the only one who wasn't a Prefect, and she spent hours with Remus and Peter on boring weekends, trying to look for loopholes in the Hogwarts' Rule Book. The sneaky Gryffindor Seeker said she would rather rely on her on ingenuity and knowledge than be corrupted by nepotism from her best friends.

Emily Macmillan, the soft spoken, polite girl from Hufflepuff, with a heart shaped face and blond hair. Everyone seemed to think she was the stereotypical Hufflepuff. But Merlin, could they they be more wrong. There was no doubt that Emily was unflinchingly loyal to her friends, but hardly anyone other than her three best friends and perhaps her dorm-mates had seen her cold side. Lily supposed loyalty was Emily's strongest as well as weak points. Enemy or a friend she followed through her decision to the end.

And Janet Davies. She was what you would expect any Ravenclaw to be. An avid reader, a top notch student, with a thirst for knowledge and an undeniably witty and sarcastic tongue. But she was also a sports person. It was funny how she could be that nerdy Ravenclaw – with her long black hair pulled into a braid, all her concentration into the text in front of her – one minute, and the next she would be debating Quidditch with Dorcas or figuring out new techniques to play Exploding Snap or Gobstones with Sirius and Peter.

When Lily arrived in the classroom with Dorcas, she saw that Emily and Janet were already present and talking about James. Lily put in her two cents, with a sigh, as they entered the classroom " Poor James. The whole castle's heard – Dorcas will you quit looking at me crazy. You've been doing that all day!"

Dorcas was still looking at her in a weird, as though trying to read her mind by looking at her face. "Bother telling us what's going through that head of yours Meadowes?"

"Bother telling us when _you _switched from referring to the Head Boy with a cold 'Potter' to a concerned 'James' Miss Evans?" Dorcas shot back.

"What are you talking ab–"

That was when Emily cut her off with her loud musings "Now that I come to think of it, I haven't even heard about any spat between both of you." Dorcas scoffed "I live with them, for Merlin's sake and I have hardly had the pleasure of witnessing one row between them. I have been waiting since September 1st, mind you, for her to rant about how 'Potter' isn't fit to be the Head Boy or something along those lines. But all I get is boring lectures about the Fidelius Charm and some Lucky Potion called the Felix Felicis".

"Come off it Dorcas, you are making it out to be a far deal more dramatic and important than it is."

Janet finally broke her silence and said "Please Lily, James was the only one who had the ability to turn you from a goody-goody, polite Prefect to a shrieking banshee with her head on fire. Now that you both are being civil to each other, you cant expect us to ignore it."

"We were civil to each other last year" Lily mumbled. "Yeah you were, that was because you hardly crossed paths last year. You didn't scream your head off at _him_. We were the ones who had to sit through rants about 'immature, pig-headed Potter'. And then two months of summer later we have Lily 'James is such a cooperative Head' Evans with us" huffed Emily.

When Lily did nothing other than sigh silently, Janet whined "What aren't you telling us Lily?"

"I spent a day with James and Sirius in Diagon Alley in August, and ended up making a silly bet with them."

"_You_ made a bet?" "You spent a whole day willingly with James and Sirius in Diagon Alley?" "What bet?" were the varied responses after her revelation.

"I went to Diagon Alley the day after I returned from the wedding in Devon. Petunia was sulking about her wedding, the flower arrangements and the menu. She wanted to go over to the Dursleys' to discuss the venue and what-not, with mum. I refused to accompany them, just to be surrounded by those horrible canines of Marjorie Dursley, and Petunia was more than happy to oblige." Janet interrupted "I take it you are not the bride's maid then?" "Of course not, I am actually surprised to be included in the wedding party. Anyway I was alone at home, so I wrote a note to Mum that I would be back by evening and apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. I finished all my shopping by noon and was just coming out of Magical Menagerie, wondering how to spend the rest of the day when I met those two."

"_Oi Evans" Lily turned to see Sirius Black seated at one of the tables at __Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor with James Potter, beckoning to her. She hesitated, but made her way towards them anyway and took her seat beside Black. They looked a little surprised that she had actually accepted their informal invitation. "Hi" she said. "So, what brings Miss Prefect to Diagon Alley alone, ditched your folks for books?" Black asked looking at the two bags of books beside her._

_Lily smirked a bit and corrected "Its Head Girl to you now Black." Potter and Black instantly straightened at the mention of Head Girl. "Did you hear that Prongs, we guessed right, Evans is the Head Girl" he looked at Lily once again "Excited about working with the Head Boy, Lily?" "I suppose, but I don't even know who the Head Boy is. Although I'm pretty sure it must be Remus or Benjy" Lily answered. Potter snorted. "Anything wrong, Potter?" Lily asked, and when he shook his head, turned to Black "Anyway did Remus mention anything about being Head Boy?"_

"_No, absolutely nothing. Maybe he isn't the Head Boy this year. You know what, maybe Benjy isn't either. If he was we would have definitely heard from Janet." Lily scoffed "Just because you both haven't heard it, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I am pretty sure one of them is going to be the Head Boy." Potter leaned forward in his seat "Sure enough to bet on it Evans?" "I don't need to bet on it. I am sure of my statement, Potter." "If you are so confident, then you've got nothing to lose, have you. Why not agree then?"_

"_What will I get when I win?" "If" Potter replied. "Pardon?" _ "If _you win Evans. If you win, I promise that we wont play any pranks until New Years." Lily let out a sharp laugh and said "Careful what you bet Potter. Are you sure you can fore-go pranks for that long? Are you sure Black will forgive you for making him miss out on the pranks?" she asked as Black watched them bemusedly. Potter smirked "Worried about me, Evans?" "Not on your life Potter. Bring it on. I hope you don't mind losing."_

"_We'll see. Anyway, when I win, you've got to partner with me, when we have a group assignment for Potions." "If, Potter" Lily corrected. "Yeah, fine, whatever" Potter answered, and that was the end of their discussion about the bet._

_Lily spent the rest of the day with Potter and Black roaming around Diagon Alley, rather than sitting alone at Leaky Cauldron or Florean's or going back home. After all, the company of her housemates was far more favorable than spending the day alone. It was the first time she was talking to either of them outside Hogwarts, and the day was turning out to be far more enjoyable than she anticipated. James and Sirius took her to the parts of Diagon Alley she hadn't been to, and told her about the fairy tales in the Wizarding World – The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She told them about Muggle appliances and Muggle customs, some of which they recognized from their Muggle Studies class. It was almost five in the evening when Lily announced she had to be home and the boys agreed. They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, from where Lily apparated home, while James and Sirius flooed home._

"So I suppose after spending the whole day with them, they felt more like friends than the pranksters I, being the Gryffindor Prefect, had to admonish. You have no idea how much in need of company I was that day, and nor did they. Yet they willingly spent the day with disregarding the fact that all I did was badger them about pranks and reject James's date requests. After that it felt weird calling them 'Potter' and 'Black' even though I've been calling them that the past six years" Lily finished.

"I'm waiting for the day when we'll be assigned group projects this year in Potions. Imagine the fiasco when the Potions Prodigy works with one of the most abysmal Potions student the dungeons have ever seen" Janet burst out. Lily huffed "Don't remind me. We have somehow managed to avoid the topic the past two weeks. I just hope he wont mess up my grades in Potions." Emily scoffed "As if _you _could ever fail Potions, regardless of who your partner is."

Dorcas suddenly piped up "Wrap it up guys, its nearly curfew." "Two Prefects and one Head Girl in the classroom and Dorcas is the one who remembers curfew" Janet said sardonically, but nonetheless shouldered her bag and stood up to leave along with the others.

Later that night when Lily was patrolling alone, she thought she saw a jet of green light near the Ravenclaw Tower. When she went into the passageway she had seen the light coming from, Lily found the corridor empty. In spite of her instinct warning her of danger, Lily waved off the incident as her overactive imagination and went to bed, looking forward to the weekend.

**A/N: **_I would appreciate it a lot, if you guys would tell me what you think of the chapter._


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